Diversity of scleractinian corals, microbenthic invertebrates and reef fish on underwater pinnacles in Surat Thani Province, Thailand
Keywords:
Underwater pinnacle, coral community, management, Surat ThaniAbstract
Underwater pinnacles in tropical countries provide important marine habitats which have ecological functions similar to coral reefs. Most of them have high potential to be established as marine protected areas. This study aimed to examine diversity of scleractinian corals, macrobenthic invertebrates and reef fish on underwater pinnacles in the vicinity of Ko Phangan, Surat Thani Province, the Western Gulf of Thailand. Five coral communities on underwater pinnacles, namely Hin Bai, Hin Ko Ma, Hin Hat Kruat, Hin Kong Nui and Hin Tae Nok were studied in early 2022. The highest percentage of live coral cover was found at Hin Bai while the lowest one was found at Hin Hat Kruat. The most dominant coral species were Porites lutea and followed by Pocillopora acuta. The highest species diversity index was observed at Hin Bai. The highest density of macrobenthic invertebrates was also found at Hin Bai while the lowest one was observed at Hin Tae Nok. The most dominant macrobenthic invertebrates were Diadema setosum and followed by Spirobranchus giganteus. The highest density of reef fish was observed at Hin Bai while the lowest one was found at Hin Ko Ma. The most abundant reef fish were Neopomacentrus anabatoides and followed by Neopomacentrus cyanomos. The two-dimensional non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) plots of study sites based on the species compositions of coral species, macrobenthic invertebrates, and reef fish exhibited three different groups. The present study provides important scientific data and recommends that the underwater pinnacles must be properly managed through appropriate interventions, particularly establishing marine protected areas under the Marine and Coastal Resources Management Promotion Act -B.E. 2558 (2015), resilience-based management (RBM) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) for strengthening a policy on protecting 30% of global oceans by 2030 under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
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